Test Engineer Summer Placment Review

The work I was involved in was very interesting and their was opportunity to work in whichever department you wanted. Most of my time was spent hands on with equipment and products which was a good way to learn. There were some short periods when it felt like I didn't have a lot of work, however when I did it was very engaging.

There are a lot of graduates, apprentices and placements at MBDA so there are loads of young faces around. This makes getting on with your colleagues much easier and allows you to feel like a member of the team. The work I did was real work for the company so it did feel like I was helping the team out.

My supervisor was very good at explaining concepts to me and providing me with enough trust to set me off on my own thing with little supervision. They put a noticeable effort in to keep me away from the boring documentation side of the work and allow me to get more practical experience which I appreciated.

The first couple of weeks I had a pretty light work load, I think this was intended to allow me to settle in, although in reality it just meant I sat around doing nothing. However as the weeks progressed I began to get more involved in real work and was busy most days. There were also days when I had little to do because my supervisor was off, however these were few and far between.

I was handed a lot of responsibility during my placement. Given the nature of the work MBDA is involved in it is expected that you will be quite restricted in what you can do, however I was pleasantly surprised in the amount of trust and responsibility I was given when I was completing work for various projects.

I got to learn a lot of practical skills during my placement, this was a nice break from my academic degree. The work I did was also based on a lot of theory that I have been learning/will be learning in my course so it will be very useful in the final years of uni.

There are lots of graduates, apprentices and placements at MBDA which meant there were loads of young faces around. This meant it was easy to make friends and enjoy yourself. The office environment was nice as it was quiet enough to be able to concentrate when you had work to do, but you were also able to share some banter with your colleagues when you wanted to take a break

Coming into the placement it seemed very well organised. The recruitment day and assessment day was very well organised and gave you a good opportunity to see when you would be working. There are lots of documents that you are required to fill out before you join, mainly for security purposes. The placement itself was also well organised, I was given a supervisor from day one and always knew who to speak to if I needed something.

My supervisor was very good at explaining concepts and procedures to me which meant I learnt a lot about how the company works. Whilst I didn't complete any formal training, the tasks I was doing day to day were very much a learning experience and provided me with lots if valuable skills for the future.

MBDA has a strong graduate scheme which is definitely worth a look. There is a strong chance you will be invited back to their graduate scheme as long as you impress during your placement. I personally was asked back for another placement next year given I have another 2 years left on my course. There is no pressure to accept any offer they give you.

In my office there were only a couple of summer placements, however we got to know the graduates who were very welcoming. I wouldn't say there is a strong social scene, however there are some opportunities to go out with colleagues. I also lived far away from the office so it was difficult to go out local to the office due to travel.

Manchester is a fairly cheap place to live and to go out. I live in Manchester anyway so was able to stay with my parents during my placement, this kept the cost of living down and so it is difficult for me to give an accurate review of the cost.

The centre of Manchester is a very good night out with lots of bars and clubs for everyone. You can quite easily go out spend no more than £30 and have a good night. I personally haven't been out into Bolton during my time working here, but haven't heard great things ...

The office is located in an industrial space which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. If you choose to live nearby there isn't going to be an awful lot of things to do. I recommend trying to house share and make some friends that way if you don't live nearby.